JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Oral nicotine pouches are a new form of tobacco-free nicotine products launched in recent years with a variety of flavors.

Objective:

This study aims to examine the public perceptions and discussions of oral nicotine pouches on Reddit, a popular social media platform for sharing user experiences.

Methods:

Between February 15, 2019, and February 12, 2021, 2410 Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches were collected. After the removal of unrelated or commercial posts, 653 Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches remained. Topics and sentiments related to oral nicotine pouches on Reddit were hand coded.

Results:

The number of Reddit posts related to oral nicotine pouches increased during the study period. Content analysis showed that the most popular topic is “sharing” (56.0%), in which sharing oral nicotine pouches products and user experiences were dominant. The next popular topic is “asking questions” related to oral nicotine pouches (product properties and recommendation) (17.6%), followed by “quitting” vaping or smoking through use of oral nicotine pouches or quitting the oral nicotine pouches themselves (12.7%) and “health” symptoms or concerns related to oral nicotine pouches (11.3%). The least popular topic was “legality/permissions” related to oral nicotine pouches (2.3%). In addition, a greater number of Reddit posts described positive attitudes than negative attitudes towards oral nicotine pouches, 54.2% vs. 15.5% (P-value < .0001).

Conclusions:

Reddit posts overall had a positive attitude towards oral nicotine pouches and were actively sharing product and user experiences. Our study provided first insight on up-to-date oral nicotine pouch discussions on social media.